§ Mr. Woodallasked the Paymaster General if he will give a breakdown of (a) the number of premises registered under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and (b) the number of visits by inspectors for the years 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. TrippierThere are some 670,000 premises on the registers of the inspectorates of the Health and Safety Executive. This figure excludes an unknown number of sites subject to inspection by HSE inspectors, but not recorded on the registers—for example, construction sites, very small agricultural holdings and tips and landfill sites. Health and safety inspectors made some 240,000 visits in both 1983 and 1984. Figures for 1985 are not yet available.
§ Mr. Woodallasked the Paymaster General if he will give the average time between planned visits by Health and Safety Executive inspectors to various types of premises, distinguishing between high and low risk premises.
§ Mr. TrippierEach inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive determines its own priorities for planned visits. The frequency of visits depends on a number of factors, including the degree of risk. The average number of visits to individual nuclear installations is between one and two a month. Figures for the other inspectorates are not readily available.
§ Mr. Woodallasked the Paymaster General how many convictions there were, and what was the average fine, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for the years 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. TrippierThe information available on prosecutions brought by Health and Safety Executive inspectorates and agencies of the Health and Safety Commission is as follows:
Year Number of convictions Average fine per conviction £ 1983 1,954 251 1984* 1,916 315 * Data for 1984 is provisional
Data for 1985 is not yet available
Information on prosecutions taken by local authorities could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Woodallasked the Paymaster General how many cases were taken on indictment under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for the years 1983, 1984 and 1985, with the average fine per conviction.
§ Mr. TrippierThe following table gives information on prosecutions taken on indictment by inspectorates of the Health and Safety Executive and agencies of the Health and Safety Commission.
602W
Year Number of convictions Average fine per conviction £ 1983 4 2,125 1984* 9 3,522 1985† 14 1,314 * Data for 1984 is provisional
† Provisional data for HM Factory Inspectorate
Information on prosecutions taken by local authorities could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Woodallasked the Paymaster General if he will list (a) the number of persons sentenced to imprisonment under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for the years 1983, 1984 and 1985, (b) the number and average level of fines against employers under the Act for the years 1983, 1984 and 1985 and (c) the number and average fines against employees for the years 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. TrippierOne person was given a suspended prison sentence in 1985. No prison sentences were imposed in 1983 or 1984.
The available information on recorded convictions following prosecutions taken by inspectorates of the Health and Safety Executive and agencies of the Health and Safety Commission is as follows:
Convictions against: Year Number Employers average fine Number Employees average fine £ £ 1983 1,752 261 67 91 1984* 1,673 327 65 93 * Data for 1984 is provisional
Data for 1985 is not yet available
Information on prosecutions taken by local authorities could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Woodallasked the Paymaster General how many prosecutions and applications to tribunals, with the relevant section of the legislation, were taken under the Safety Representative and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 for the years 1984 and 1985; and what were the results of these actions.
§ Mr. TrippierNo prosecutions under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 were taken by inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive in 1984 and 1985.
During 1984 six applications to industrial tribunals were registered under regulation 11(1)(a) and four under regulation 11(1)(b). The figures for 1985 were four and two, respectively. Information on the results of these applications could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Woodallasked the Paymaster General how many appeals were made to industrial tribunals against (a) improvement notices and (b) prohibition notices, with the results of these appeals, for the years 1974 to 1985 inclusive, issued under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
§ Mr. TrippierThe table gives the available information for England and Wales.
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Year notice issued Appeals against Notices* Number of these appeals upheld 1975 30 0 1976 52 1 1977 77 8 1978 104 9
Year notice issued Appeals against Notices* Number of these appeals upheld 1979 100 6 1980 89 4 1981 196 8 1982 220 11 1983 117 n/a 1984 148 n/a 1985† 124 n/a * Records of appeals obtained by HSE from the Central Office of Industrial Tribunals do not distinguish the different types of notice appealed against.
† Provisional.
n/a Results of appeals not available without incurring disproportionate costs.